Gatti wins journalism award: For Diversity. Against Discrimination

On 16 April, 2007, the winners of the “For Diversity. Against Discrimination” Journalist Award 2006 were announced. The first prize was given to Fabrizio Gatti for the article “Io schiavo in Puglia” ( English version I was a slave in Puglia), published on 7 October 2006 in Italian weekly L’Espresso.
The article was written after Gatti’s one-week experience as a tomato picker in the province of Foggia, in the south of Italy. Inserting himself in a group of illegal immigrants which are treated as slaves, he gave a raw account of a reality hidden in one of the world’s most industrialised countries. The photo reportage can be found here.

The jury chose Gatti’s article as “his efforts to understand discrimination and what it is like to be discriminated are without comparison. (...) He used the means at his disposition to inform the general public about the disastrous situation of many foreigners in the South of Italy. Furthermore, thanks to his extraordinary journalistic talent, he lets the reader partecipate his experience”.

Second prize went to Hungarian journalist Miklós Hargitai for “Our very own gipsy daughter”, published in Népszabadság Online on 30 December 2006. The author wrote the article “in order to clarify some misunderstandings among those who would like to adopt a child of gypsy origin”.

The third prize was assigned to Petra Sjouwerman from Belgium. Her article “Company recruits autistic people only” was published in De Morgen on 18 May 2006 and shows how a difference can become strength when a company decides to hire autistic people.

The award is granted as part of the five year campaign “For Diversity. Against Discrimination” and the winners were selected among print and online journalists from the 25 EU Member States. In the third year of this competition 568 valid entries were submitted. Vladimír Špidla, European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, honoured the winners at the ceremony in Brussels.

To consult the nominees and read the articles submitted in their original language and in English, click here. For more information on the campaign, visit http://www.stop-discrimination.info/.